Home / News / Foreclosure / REO Sales Down in California as Inventory Tightens: C.A.R.
Print This Post Print This Post

REO Sales Down in California as Inventory Tightens: C.A.R.

Lack of inventory continues to stunt pending home sales in California, according to the ""California Association of Realtors'"":http://www.car.org/ (C.A.R.) most recent home sales report.

[IMAGE]

C.A.R.'s Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI), which is based on signed contracts, declined from 121.2 in June to 116.1 in July, but was up from 113 in July 2011.

The decline in pending home sales may be a forward indicator pointing to a slowdown in home sales.

[COLUMN_BREAK]

""We continue to see a strong demand for housing, but the California market is being hindered by a lack of inventory and multiple offers on what little inventory that is available,"" said C.A.R. President LeFrancis Arnold. ""The shortage of inventory has had the most dramatic effect in the REO market, where the available inventory stands at a 1.5-month supply and the share of REO sales dropping 35 percent over the past year.""

The share of REO sales dropped to 40.5 percent in July, down from 42 percent in June and 47.6 percent in July 2011.

According to the report, the supply of REOs available for purchase remained tight, with the Unsold Inventory Index at a mere 1.5-month supply.

Although REO sales decreased, the share of short sales saw improvement, increasing in July to 22.6 percent, up from 21.4 percent in June and up from 18.8 percent a year ago. In July, the Unsold Inventory Index was 4.2 months for short sales.

The share of non-distressed property sales increased monthly and yearly. Non-distressed sales accounted for 59.5 percent of sales in July, up from 58 percent in June and 52.4 percent a year ago. The months' supply of unsold inventory was 3.8 months in July for non-distressed properties.

About Author: Esther Cho

x

Check Also

Home-Selling Profits Drop for First Time in a Decade

The typical seller is still making a strong profit when selling their home, but that number has dropped for the first time since 2011.